Glutathione S-transferase (GST) is a multifunctional protease which involves in the regulation process of many abiotic stresses (drought, salt, low temperature, heavy metals) in plants. Aegilops tanschii is the donor of D genome for hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum, AABBDD), and the study on GST genome family in Aegilops tanschii (DD) will facilitate the further study of GST in hexaploid wheat. In this study, 114 GST genes from Aegilops tanschii were selected and classified into 6 subfamilies. Gene duplication analysis found that four pairs GST genes had been duplicated and they belonged to purify selection. The expression levels of some GST genes under environmental stress found that eight GST genes were highly expressed in root under drought and salt stress by qRT-PCR assay, in which three GST genes were up-regulated significantly responding to low temperature in root and leaf. This suggested there was a difference in the expression of GSTs in Aegilops tauschii responding to abiotic stress in root and leaf.

Gaut B S, Doebley J F . DNA sequence evidence for the segmental allotetraploid origin of maize. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 1997,94(13):6809-6814.
doi: 10.1073/pnas.94.13.6809